Carl Moll

1861 Vienna - 1945 Vienna

  • Title View from the Giudecca of the church Santa Maria della Salute in Venice
  • Date 1922
  • Technic oil on panel
  • Dimensions 27 x 46.2 cm
  • Signature monogram lower left: CM verso designated: 28. Jänner 1932 von Prof. Carl Moll als Hochzeitsgeschenk erhalten / Wien XIX Wollergasse 10 Corinna Calvagni Sanatorium Tulln z. Wien
  • Provenance 1932 collection Corinna Calvagni; 1962 collection Corinna Menninger-Lerchenthal, Vienna; private collection, Lower Austria
  • Literature Cabuk/Rollig/Huemer (ed.), Carl Moll. Monograph and catalogue raisonné, Belvedere catalogues raisonnés, vol. 11, Vienna 2020, p. 214, cat. rais. no. GE 340; cf. Frodl/Natter, Carl Moll. 1861 – 1945, exhibition catalogue Österreichische Galerie Belvedere Vienna, Vienna 1998, fig. 63
  • Other The artwork is registered in the online catalogue raisonné of the artist Carl Moll by Dr. Cornelia Cabuk in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna under the cat. rais. no. GE 340.

Around 1922, Moll shifted from his previous delicate style of juxtaposing colors with brushstrokes to a more planar approach using a palette knife. That same year, Moll and his wife visited Venice on two occasions. It is likely that he painted this work during these visits. Moll depicts the southern entrance to the Canale Grande on a wide horizontal scale. On the left, the mighty dome of Santa Maria della Salute rises, while on the right, the Punta da Màr, the former customs building topped with a golden globe, and the Campanile di San Marco with the Procuratie Nuove on St. Mark’s Square are visible. With assured, cursory strokes, he captures the essence of the architecture, swiftly indicating details with dry brushstrokes. The sky, with its low-hanging clouds, is rendered in broad, crisscrossed brushstrokes. A solitary gondola animates the impressive scenery on the Giudecca canal. The high horizon contributes to the sense of expanse and distance, allowing Moll to depict the reflection of the magnificent Venetian architecture mingling with the rippling waves.